Review: “Dawn of Corruption” by Distant

Downtempo Deathcore collective Distant hail from Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Bratislava in Slovakia, a six piece outfit who in their words perform the dark hymns of the fallen kingdom for listeners to experience the atmospheric despair and the grotesque void to come, emotional, evil and ruthless. After numerous tours around Europe and their debut EP “Slither” in 2015 opened the vortex before “Tsukuyomi” in 2017 opened the gates of hell for them to sign for Unique Leader Records for their first album “Tyrannotophia”, released in June 2019. A pair of new recruits in Jan Mato on drums (ex-Shrill Whispers) and Eise Smit (ex-Rising Conflict) on guitars have now joined vocalist Alan Grnja,  guitarists Nouri Yetgin and Vladimir Golic and bassist Elmer Maurits as they enter a new dawn; that of corruption. A concept EP that sees a dark descent into the depths of the kingdom of Tyrannotophia, the realm of the doomed and the sound of the world’s damnation. The kingdom is on the brink of falling and a new era is about to begin. Escaping from the darkness, all of the wretched creatures are on a hunt for its crown…

…Jagged angular guitar work and spaced out passages of drums create the background to the single verse that is opening piece “Hull of Crows“, its sinister dark tones setting the level of aggression and oppression with the bone crushing weight of the sound. Distant have build a Deathcore hybrid of monstrous proportions leading to this moment in their career and “Dawn Of Corruption” continues that growth, playing with texture and atmosphere with layers of sound. The ambient progressive tones that play underneath the rhythmic battery in the middle distance on the title track are like an echo; you want to hear what that would sound like in isolation, such is the haunting, ghostly nature of it. Jason Evans of Ingested adds to the low end before that same haunting element continues into “Hellmouth“, a cut that utilizes DJent fueled riffs and blast beats to ominous effect, allowing the band to attack with wave after shockwave of breakdowns with evil intent. Their use of programming on this one adds a little science fiction touch in keeping with the theme of the record and only serves to enhance the evil nature of the punishing sounds. Chugging into life like a juggernaut with some Death Metal rocket fuel “Oedipism” brings in little nuances from Black Metal and Death Metal that pop out of the mix, including a technical Death Metal solo of skill and dexterity. Grnja’s vocals aren’t as Slam heavy as you might perhaps expect his preference is to keep them for some guttural roars and instead use a demonic tone forged in the fires of hell that is the vocal equivalent of getting sand blasted. Having been in Aborted  for seven years, guitarist Mendel bij de Leij appears on “Temple Of Taglaroth” as musician used to making guest appearances, with notable appearances on tracks by The Curse of Millhaven, Cognizance and Demonstealer. Here he delivers a blistering Melodic Death Metal solo on a brutal cut that delivers pummeling downtempo groove segments and breakdowns galore. The blood and thunder nature of this beast is unequivocal; Distant have ascended to the throne of Hell from the nightmares they help create. Playing on silence creates an eerie dynamic in “The Void” as between each brutal chug there is an uneasy momentary pause; you’re never quite sure if it’s going to go again or surge in a different direction as the beast approaches and that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. The only flaw in this record is that it’s woefully short, at the end you’re left crying for more, but there is also the feeling that if Distant gave you more it would be too much, the crushing weight of their creations enough to destroy even the strongest of minds [8/10]

Track listing

1. Hull of Crows
2. Dawn Of Corruption (ft. Jason Evans of Ingested)
3. Hellmouth
4. Oedipism
5. Temple Of Taglaroth (ft. Mendel bij de Leij ex-Aborted)
6. The Void

“Dawn of Corruption” by Distant is out 23rd October via Unique Leader Records with pre-orders available here.